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This haunt isn't just reliant on its home...but it doesn't hurt. |
Todd - Escape From Blood Prison (BP) in an impressive accomplishment. Not only is it larger than many haunts but it must be assembled in the confines of the Ohio State Reformatory - also known as the Shawshank Redemption prison. Many haunts have the convenience of either building their attractions in a totally empty space or at least a conventional floor plan. Steel cell blocks aren't easy to move so BP must get creative in building around these structures and still produce an effective haunt. They succeeded.
BP is a LONG haunt - one of the longest we have ever experienced. Impressively, the haunt spans the length of the building and sits among two different levels. Rather than attempt to cover the prison's massive interior, BP embraces it an integrates into its various sections. The one exception would be the opening home scene which represents a more traditional haunted house. This is the only area which doesn't have an obvious prison backdrop, however it looks spectacular. It's highly detailed and thoroughly engrossing. Other areas include a prison breakout scene, a carnival, chapel and butcher (though his cuts of meat are surely more for sadistic satisfaction than sale). A new outdoor tunnel has been built as well which I was convinced was an old, existing structure until I learned otherwise.
Essentially, everyone you encounter is a resident of this prison, which is now more of an open-range home for the worst of the worst in which their own deranged society has formed. While actors felt sparse, we learned there were around 50 working. For a typical haunt, this is a good size for staff - for this enormous prison, it's arguably lean. For example, in the zombie area, the area is easily spacious enough for 10 or more zombies, but you may only encounter 2. In the prison breakout scene, chaos would be better displayed with more than the 3 inmates we encountered (and one lone guard on watch, perched on the catwalk). However, the actors' execution is adequate despite having some large (to say the least) rooms to work in.
Not all scenes are presented in the massive cell block wings. At times you'll find yourself downstairs in a pitch-black hallway. You know you're not alone, but as you pass each open cell, one after the other as you walk along, you never know when that creeping actor will jump out. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, if you opt in for the hands-on experience, you'll be provided with a glow necklace which will provide you with some light, whereas without it, you won't be able to see your own hand in front of your face. So make your choice, navigate in complete darkness but rest assured no menacing lurker will grab you - or - have an advantage in possibly seeing your predator in advance, but suffer the personal contact.
As far as the contact goes if you do opt it, it's not overly extreme. Last year we found ourselves being thrown against walls in what we referred to as the "zombie mosh pit." This year, the interaction was less aggressive and more playful - grabbing and caressing of hair (for those of us that still have some), little touches to the face or arms, things like that. Hell, I even got a big bear hug from a mental patient. It was actually kind of nice (aww). The roughest encounter I personally had was in the werewolf area, where one such creature hides in the shadows and snatches a victim from your group. I had the honors this year and it was a little jolting. Last year, Paul was the chosen one and I easily recall seeing at least one of his feet lifted to mid-air as he was scooped away.
Not every interaction with an actor was memorable. There aren't any major players that have long dialogues to lend to the story. Some have a variance of banter that lend to their character, while others are there simply for the jump scares. The effort of this task varied actor to actor. Overall, they did a good job and again, came across more playful in a deranged kind of way than aggressive. A few were lackluster, including a nurse who was sitting on a table just chilling in a transition hallway. I causally said, "Hello" as I passed by with no reply. That confused me more than anything; I really wasn't sure what she was doing. A few others stayed in place and just stared us down as we passed by. With actors being so spread out, the weight of each actor's impact is greater so I would have like to see more involvement across the board. We were there close to opening so it's not like they had been working for hours upon hours yet.
See Paul's review as I'm sure he'll speak to this more in-depth, but the girl playing the warden's wife was outstanding. You can't miss her. She's tall, formally dressed, with a dark, ghostly appearance. Oh and she can scream loud enough to make satan shit a brick.
Overall, Blood Prison's execution was even better than last year. While most of the presentation was repeated from last year, some scenes were rearranged or enhanced for the better this year. I would like to see more actors to "flesh out" the experience more so (no pun intended) but the whole thing is very entertaining nonetheless. We did learn that on November 2nd, actors from Cedar Point will be working the haunt adding ~20 bodies to the roster which sounds very appealing. While having the prison as a backdrop is hard to beat, the haunt itself can hold its own. For us, visiting BP is a welcome drive out of the way of just about anything else because the total experience is that good. Once the sun sets, the lighting of the building's exterior alone is fun to look at. Throw in the roaming actors and the new side show displaying numerous freakish talents and you've got a very enjoyable night ahead of you.
BP is a LONG haunt - one of the longest we have ever experienced. Impressively, the haunt spans the length of the building and sits among two different levels. Rather than attempt to cover the prison's massive interior, BP embraces it an integrates into its various sections. The one exception would be the opening home scene which represents a more traditional haunted house. This is the only area which doesn't have an obvious prison backdrop, however it looks spectacular. It's highly detailed and thoroughly engrossing. Other areas include a prison breakout scene, a carnival, chapel and butcher (though his cuts of meat are surely more for sadistic satisfaction than sale). A new outdoor tunnel has been built as well which I was convinced was an old, existing structure until I learned otherwise.
Essentially, everyone you encounter is a resident of this prison, which is now more of an open-range home for the worst of the worst in which their own deranged society has formed. While actors felt sparse, we learned there were around 50 working. For a typical haunt, this is a good size for staff - for this enormous prison, it's arguably lean. For example, in the zombie area, the area is easily spacious enough for 10 or more zombies, but you may only encounter 2. In the prison breakout scene, chaos would be better displayed with more than the 3 inmates we encountered (and one lone guard on watch, perched on the catwalk). However, the actors' execution is adequate despite having some large (to say the least) rooms to work in.
Not all scenes are presented in the massive cell block wings. At times you'll find yourself downstairs in a pitch-black hallway. You know you're not alone, but as you pass each open cell, one after the other as you walk along, you never know when that creeping actor will jump out. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, if you opt in for the hands-on experience, you'll be provided with a glow necklace which will provide you with some light, whereas without it, you won't be able to see your own hand in front of your face. So make your choice, navigate in complete darkness but rest assured no menacing lurker will grab you - or - have an advantage in possibly seeing your predator in advance, but suffer the personal contact.
As far as the contact goes if you do opt it, it's not overly extreme. Last year we found ourselves being thrown against walls in what we referred to as the "zombie mosh pit." This year, the interaction was less aggressive and more playful - grabbing and caressing of hair (for those of us that still have some), little touches to the face or arms, things like that. Hell, I even got a big bear hug from a mental patient. It was actually kind of nice (aww). The roughest encounter I personally had was in the werewolf area, where one such creature hides in the shadows and snatches a victim from your group. I had the honors this year and it was a little jolting. Last year, Paul was the chosen one and I easily recall seeing at least one of his feet lifted to mid-air as he was scooped away.
Not every interaction with an actor was memorable. There aren't any major players that have long dialogues to lend to the story. Some have a variance of banter that lend to their character, while others are there simply for the jump scares. The effort of this task varied actor to actor. Overall, they did a good job and again, came across more playful in a deranged kind of way than aggressive. A few were lackluster, including a nurse who was sitting on a table just chilling in a transition hallway. I causally said, "Hello" as I passed by with no reply. That confused me more than anything; I really wasn't sure what she was doing. A few others stayed in place and just stared us down as we passed by. With actors being so spread out, the weight of each actor's impact is greater so I would have like to see more involvement across the board. We were there close to opening so it's not like they had been working for hours upon hours yet.
See Paul's review as I'm sure he'll speak to this more in-depth, but the girl playing the warden's wife was outstanding. You can't miss her. She's tall, formally dressed, with a dark, ghostly appearance. Oh and she can scream loud enough to make satan shit a brick.
Overall, Blood Prison's execution was even better than last year. While most of the presentation was repeated from last year, some scenes were rearranged or enhanced for the better this year. I would like to see more actors to "flesh out" the experience more so (no pun intended) but the whole thing is very entertaining nonetheless. We did learn that on November 2nd, actors from Cedar Point will be working the haunt adding ~20 bodies to the roster which sounds very appealing. While having the prison as a backdrop is hard to beat, the haunt itself can hold its own. For us, visiting BP is a welcome drive out of the way of just about anything else because the total experience is that good. Once the sun sets, the lighting of the building's exterior alone is fun to look at. Throw in the roaming actors and the new side show displaying numerous freakish talents and you've got a very enjoyable night ahead of you.
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Dear Diary... |
Paul - Mansfield penitentiary diaries
Day 1244: The uprising has been going on for almost 2 years now. The outside world has given up and is waiting on all of us to just kill each other in here. The guards are all dead or gone, and the cell blocks have become playgrounds for evil. There was a plane crash that destroyed my cell so I've begun looking for another place to settle down inside. I made it back to intake but they still haven't been able to open the gates there, and the warden's wife still patrols the other side. She's the most frightening woman I've ever encountered and I don't dare cross her. The shriek that woman lets out haunts my dreams nearly every night. Beyond intake is an area that some of the inmates have transformed into a home and they've invited me to stay with them for a while. Better than solitary...
Day 1252: I made it just over a week with the homebodies. This place does bad things to people and that group was really starting to scare me. They were cooking some really disturbing things in the kitchen and quite a bit of it didn't appear to be animal meat. And where the hell did all of the dolls come from? It wouldn't be too soon if I never saw another creepy doll in my life. I think I'm going to make my way downstairs and see if I can find a safe place to stay there while I look for another way out of here.
Day 1301: Well that didn't go as planned. When I made it downstairs I hit an area where the power was out. On my way through I was attacked by some inmates who seemed to have been living in the darkness for far too long. As soon as I would get anywhere near one of their cells they'd rush out and attack me. I finally built up the courage to just run past them and after a few minutes of running as fast as I could, I ended up in an escape tunnel!! I thought I was finally going to escape from this hellhole that the other inmates have started calling "blood prison" but the damn tunnel looped around and dumped me back out where I started... Just to find the nightwalkers were waiting for me. They locked me up in solitary for a few weeks just because they thought it was funny. I have got to find a way out of this prison.
Day 1373: I've been wandering around in here for weeks trying to find a way outside but it's just not happening. I'm losing hope. The plane that crashed into my cell is still there, as are the survivors of the crash. I still can't figure out how they've survived this long, though as crazy as they are, they can't have much time left. The other residents of that particular block somehow have amassed a huge stockpile of items from outside including a car! It's a shame they torched it or maybe I could have used it to crash through a gate and get out of here.
Day 1397: I'm still alive. Sometimes I'll have to hide for days on end to keep these lunatics from seeing me and coming after me. I've had to actually fight a few of them due to this stupid collar they gave me when I was locked up all those years ago. I'm not sure how it's been glowing this long but as soon as the inmates see it they come after me and do everything they can to make my life a living hell. I try to keep it covered up but this place is so dark it just seems to shine through everything. I swear it's just a beacon of pain.
Day 1506: I somehow made it through the church, the infirmary, and the carnival. WHO THE HELL GAVE THE CLOWNS WEAPONS?!??! And where did the huge spike pit come from? It looks like the bridge stage in Mortal Kombat where you can finish someone right off the bridge and onto the spikes below. Maybe there's a fight club on one of the upper floors? Though I guess I'll never know due to rule 1 of fight club. Through all of my sneaking around I've been hearing rumors of a way out of here though. Hope is building.
Day 1578: I found it... The way out. It's through the basement! Or at least I think it is! Any time I can get near the basement door I can feel air blowing up the stairs. There has to be a way out through that basement. The smell wafting up on that breeze is worrying me though. It's familiar, yet it terrifies me...
Day 1666: I've been slowly making my way through this maze of darkness in the basement for days. I know the exit is close, but as I crawl closer to the light, I see, hear and smell things I shouldn't be. How can all of this be happening down here? How long has it been going on? Judging by the way some of this looks, it's been happening way longer than the uprising has. The stench of death is overpowering but there is also the faint smell of freedom. I'm so close now I can almost taste it. I've managed to stay out of sight and I've reached a point where can see a staircase leading up a floor and toward the front of the penitentiary. I think I can do it. It's been a long voyage and I'm finally ready to make my Escape from Blood Prison.
Day 1244: The uprising has been going on for almost 2 years now. The outside world has given up and is waiting on all of us to just kill each other in here. The guards are all dead or gone, and the cell blocks have become playgrounds for evil. There was a plane crash that destroyed my cell so I've begun looking for another place to settle down inside. I made it back to intake but they still haven't been able to open the gates there, and the warden's wife still patrols the other side. She's the most frightening woman I've ever encountered and I don't dare cross her. The shriek that woman lets out haunts my dreams nearly every night. Beyond intake is an area that some of the inmates have transformed into a home and they've invited me to stay with them for a while. Better than solitary...
Day 1252: I made it just over a week with the homebodies. This place does bad things to people and that group was really starting to scare me. They were cooking some really disturbing things in the kitchen and quite a bit of it didn't appear to be animal meat. And where the hell did all of the dolls come from? It wouldn't be too soon if I never saw another creepy doll in my life. I think I'm going to make my way downstairs and see if I can find a safe place to stay there while I look for another way out of here.
Day 1301: Well that didn't go as planned. When I made it downstairs I hit an area where the power was out. On my way through I was attacked by some inmates who seemed to have been living in the darkness for far too long. As soon as I would get anywhere near one of their cells they'd rush out and attack me. I finally built up the courage to just run past them and after a few minutes of running as fast as I could, I ended up in an escape tunnel!! I thought I was finally going to escape from this hellhole that the other inmates have started calling "blood prison" but the damn tunnel looped around and dumped me back out where I started... Just to find the nightwalkers were waiting for me. They locked me up in solitary for a few weeks just because they thought it was funny. I have got to find a way out of this prison.
Day 1373: I've been wandering around in here for weeks trying to find a way outside but it's just not happening. I'm losing hope. The plane that crashed into my cell is still there, as are the survivors of the crash. I still can't figure out how they've survived this long, though as crazy as they are, they can't have much time left. The other residents of that particular block somehow have amassed a huge stockpile of items from outside including a car! It's a shame they torched it or maybe I could have used it to crash through a gate and get out of here.
Day 1397: I'm still alive. Sometimes I'll have to hide for days on end to keep these lunatics from seeing me and coming after me. I've had to actually fight a few of them due to this stupid collar they gave me when I was locked up all those years ago. I'm not sure how it's been glowing this long but as soon as the inmates see it they come after me and do everything they can to make my life a living hell. I try to keep it covered up but this place is so dark it just seems to shine through everything. I swear it's just a beacon of pain.
Day 1506: I somehow made it through the church, the infirmary, and the carnival. WHO THE HELL GAVE THE CLOWNS WEAPONS?!??! And where did the huge spike pit come from? It looks like the bridge stage in Mortal Kombat where you can finish someone right off the bridge and onto the spikes below. Maybe there's a fight club on one of the upper floors? Though I guess I'll never know due to rule 1 of fight club. Through all of my sneaking around I've been hearing rumors of a way out of here though. Hope is building.
Day 1578: I found it... The way out. It's through the basement! Or at least I think it is! Any time I can get near the basement door I can feel air blowing up the stairs. There has to be a way out through that basement. The smell wafting up on that breeze is worrying me though. It's familiar, yet it terrifies me...
Day 1666: I've been slowly making my way through this maze of darkness in the basement for days. I know the exit is close, but as I crawl closer to the light, I see, hear and smell things I shouldn't be. How can all of this be happening down here? How long has it been going on? Judging by the way some of this looks, it's been happening way longer than the uprising has. The stench of death is overpowering but there is also the faint smell of freedom. I'm so close now I can almost taste it. I've managed to stay out of sight and I've reached a point where can see a staircase leading up a floor and toward the front of the penitentiary. I think I can do it. It's been a long voyage and I'm finally ready to make my Escape from Blood Prison.
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And while the dreary, dank, dark prison cells, peeling paint, and echo-y metal walkways certainly add to the Blood Prison atmosphere, they don't rely on those things to be enough to scare you. Oh, no. Blood Prison is just getting started with the natural scenery. |
Teresa - Escape from Blood Prison is a haunt located in Mansfield, Ohio, inside the old Ohio State Reformatory. For those you haven't been here, this is where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. Just take a second to Google the building; it is so imposing! The building dates from 1886 and was officially closed in 1990. It is a fantastically creepy place to visit, even during the rest of the year when the haunt isn't open. And while the dreary, dank, dark prison cells, peeling paint, and echo-y metal walkways certainly add to the Blood Prison atmosphere, they don't rely on those things to be enough to scare you. Oh, no. Blood Prison is just getting started with the natural scenery.
The backstory is simple and effectively executed. The most deranged criminals have escaped from maximum security prisons across the nation, and these characters now call the Ohio State Reformatory their home. Inside is utter chaos. Every year on Halloween, the gates open to the public. For some reason, people line up to see inside. It can get quite busy, in fact. Get there early, or consider getting the Speed or Lightning Pass if you're the impatient type. Also, I'd highly recommend the upgrade to the Touch Pass. If you come to a prison full of psychopaths, you obviously want to be scared, so you might as well go for the full experience! Knowing these miscreants can grab you whenever they want, really keeps you on your toes! Adrenaline enhances the fun! Inside, you will meet the Warden and his family. His wife is absolutely terrifying! On a scale from disconcerting to terrifying, she goes straight to blood-curdling! You go through various sections of the prison, each divided by a little waiting area, where you might be able to watch a couple minutes of a classic horror movie while you wait. These little "reset" areas are really great. Without them, a haunt as long as Blood Prison will wind up with all the small groups of people catching up to one another, and becoming one big conga line, and conga lines are not scary...unless you're forced to participate in one at that annoying coworker's wedding. This way, you go by yourselves through prisoners with guns who looked right out of a movie (one shot me in the head!), around a plane that crashed into the prison, past bodies hanging on the wall and roasting in fires, down dark passages with lunatics who jump out of cells to make your heart skip, zombies jumping out from behind crashed vehicles, an old church with some questionable acolytes, a medical area with equally questionable doctors, a morgue (very much needed due to previous doctors), a carnival with oh-so-playful clowns, a butcher with a great big saw...and on and on. The scenes and effects are memorable.
The actors are good at getting jump scares and interacting in fun ways. They are very grabby if you have the Touch Pass. I'd classify most of the touching as that. Although one guy walked behind me poking me in the head over and over for a good stretch. They will definitely pursue you and play with you. And the jump scares are so good and numerous that you're going to be on edge, even without the Touch Pass. I thought the lighting throughout was really good. Parts are very dark and you can't see at all what is lurking in the passage. Others are perfectly lit to highlight some of the horrible images you don't want to miss. There are some really fun props (like bodies that looked so real!) and animatronic beasts and beings that are well-placed. Some could knock you over if you're not paying attention. And I was super-impressed with the use of sound and music to heighten each scene. It is truly an exciting haunt and I would highly recommend it! If you make it out, check out the gift shop. It's very well-stocked with all kinds of souvenirs, and the money goes to maintain the prison. Outside, they have live entertainment via Hellzapoppin: a Circus Sideshow Revue. I'm sorry to say we didn't have time to check it out, as we had a packed schedule, but I will say the stories I heard about it make it sound like an impressive show. I really wanted to go see it! We were so close! Anyway, there was a line of what looked like food booths outside, so between the haunt, the show and the food, I think we could have happily spent some hours there. Go! You won't regret it!
The backstory is simple and effectively executed. The most deranged criminals have escaped from maximum security prisons across the nation, and these characters now call the Ohio State Reformatory their home. Inside is utter chaos. Every year on Halloween, the gates open to the public. For some reason, people line up to see inside. It can get quite busy, in fact. Get there early, or consider getting the Speed or Lightning Pass if you're the impatient type. Also, I'd highly recommend the upgrade to the Touch Pass. If you come to a prison full of psychopaths, you obviously want to be scared, so you might as well go for the full experience! Knowing these miscreants can grab you whenever they want, really keeps you on your toes! Adrenaline enhances the fun! Inside, you will meet the Warden and his family. His wife is absolutely terrifying! On a scale from disconcerting to terrifying, she goes straight to blood-curdling! You go through various sections of the prison, each divided by a little waiting area, where you might be able to watch a couple minutes of a classic horror movie while you wait. These little "reset" areas are really great. Without them, a haunt as long as Blood Prison will wind up with all the small groups of people catching up to one another, and becoming one big conga line, and conga lines are not scary...unless you're forced to participate in one at that annoying coworker's wedding. This way, you go by yourselves through prisoners with guns who looked right out of a movie (one shot me in the head!), around a plane that crashed into the prison, past bodies hanging on the wall and roasting in fires, down dark passages with lunatics who jump out of cells to make your heart skip, zombies jumping out from behind crashed vehicles, an old church with some questionable acolytes, a medical area with equally questionable doctors, a morgue (very much needed due to previous doctors), a carnival with oh-so-playful clowns, a butcher with a great big saw...and on and on. The scenes and effects are memorable.
The actors are good at getting jump scares and interacting in fun ways. They are very grabby if you have the Touch Pass. I'd classify most of the touching as that. Although one guy walked behind me poking me in the head over and over for a good stretch. They will definitely pursue you and play with you. And the jump scares are so good and numerous that you're going to be on edge, even without the Touch Pass. I thought the lighting throughout was really good. Parts are very dark and you can't see at all what is lurking in the passage. Others are perfectly lit to highlight some of the horrible images you don't want to miss. There are some really fun props (like bodies that looked so real!) and animatronic beasts and beings that are well-placed. Some could knock you over if you're not paying attention. And I was super-impressed with the use of sound and music to heighten each scene. It is truly an exciting haunt and I would highly recommend it! If you make it out, check out the gift shop. It's very well-stocked with all kinds of souvenirs, and the money goes to maintain the prison. Outside, they have live entertainment via Hellzapoppin: a Circus Sideshow Revue. I'm sorry to say we didn't have time to check it out, as we had a packed schedule, but I will say the stories I heard about it make it sound like an impressive show. I really wanted to go see it! We were so close! Anyway, there was a line of what looked like food booths outside, so between the haunt, the show and the food, I think we could have happily spent some hours there. Go! You won't regret it!